Tale of Don
by Askre5
Summary: A little fed up with Raphael, Donatello goes to the Junkyard and has nasty surprise.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N:** Story originally written and posted on 14/03 2006

Back when I first wrote this story it was supposed to be a one shot. But I kept staring at it and realized that there was no way I could keep it a one shot without just having it way too long. At least in my opinion.

So I decided to divide it into two chapters + an epilogue.

The story is taking place in the 2K3 universe, based mostly off the first two seasons and early third season.

But the inspiration for the story comes from the old toon, from an episode called Donatello's Duplicate, where Donatello got a bit fed up with having to fix everything around the lair and clones himself.

But no, there is no cloning in this story though.

* * *

 **Disclaimer and Legal stuff:**

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles®, including Raphael®, Michelangelo®, Leonardo®, Donatello®, April O'Neil®, and Splinter® are registered trademarks of Viacom International Inc. Based on characters and comic books created by Peter A. Laird and Kevin B. Eastman.

I do not own them in other words.

This story is written purely as a homage to the Teenage Mutant Turtles and not meant for any commercial profit or infringement on copyright. This story will immediately be removed if Viacom International wishes so.

The story, is copyright © 2006 by Hermann Gunnar Sigurðsson (Askre).

 _Sum: A little fed up with Raphael, Donatello goes to the Junkyard and has nasty surprise._

* * *

 **Chapter 1.**

"I'm not fixing that."

Raphael blinked and for a moment thought he had just misheard him, but the serious expression on his brother, plus that his arms were folded and he made no indication of moving confirmed it.

"What do ya mean, you're not fixin' that?" the red clad turtle asked with a frown, that was a sentence he never expected to hear from Donatello.

"What I said, I am NOT fixing that," the purple masked ninja grunted. Raph frowned even harder. His brother stared back, daring him to do something.

"And why the shell not?" the hot-tempered turtle demanded to know; in his hands was the DVD player. The electronic had the obvious give away signs that it had been kicked and punched.

"Because this is the third time in two days you bring it here. I know it has a habit of freezing up but I have told you thousands of times, I can't fix that problem without finding another DVD player and so far I haven't. And you are now just going to have to live without it until I find one," Don said in a clearly frustrated tone.

"Why can't you just fix this one instead, saves you the damn trouble," Raphael growled and shock the electronic device a bit. Don narrowed his eyes on his brother, really wanting to pick up his Bo and knock some senses into him.

"Look, it's not like you have anything better to do." Raph was himself getting frustrated and a bit angry. He had finally acquired a copy of his favorite show on DVD but with a busted player, he couldn't watch it. "Besides it's your damn job around here isn't it?"

"Excuse me?" Don had to restrain his jaw from dropping. Raph cringed as he realized that he had opened his beak a little too wide.

"Ah… I well… um…" the red clad turtle tried to find the correct words but found severe lack of them.

"It's my job?" Don raised one eye ridge. "I have nothing better to do?"

"I didn't exactly mean it like that," Raphael tried to safe face but saw that he had hit a raw nerve.

"Hand me that," the purple masked turtle said quietly reaching for the DVD player.

"Don, I…"

"Just give me that," Donatello said again forcefully cutting his brother short. Raphael sighed and walked closer to his brother who accepted the device.

"Now get out!" The purple clad turtle turned away and put the player beside his computer. The red masked ninja hesitated, wanted to say something but couldn't think of a good way. Sighing Raph walked out of Don's room.

Donatello shook his head and glared at the DVD player. This was the third time and he was sure if he fixed it, the device would be delivered to his room the fourth time as well. He continued to browse the internet, looking for mathematical theories he wanted for his latest projects.

 _I have nothing better to do._ He frowned as the turtle thought about the 'conversation' earlier. _It's my job here._

"It's my job to fix everything he breaks that disagrees with him, it's my job, I'm just a damn handy-turtle, a tool," Don muttered under his breath as he finally found what he was looking for. "I guess I picked it, guess I acquired it simply because I happen to know how to do it."

"I can't believe it." The turtle momentarily forgot his frustration when reading what the webpage said. "I have to subtract not divide. Of course."

Completely forgetting the DVD player Don rose up from his computer chair and went straight for his black board. He picked up a piece of calk and began writing down his recently discovered information. The flat black surface was already covered with various mathematical problems he had been making, but now he was doing the necessary modification.

"There, now that's more like it." Donatello stepped back to admire his work on the black board. "That should give the security sensors a better reading. I better feed this to the computer and into the simulator program to test it."

When he turned back to the computer, he spotted the DVD player and he remembered the moment from earlier. One eye ridge rose as he stared at the device.

"No wait, guess I don't have anything better to do than to fix that contraption. Guess the unimportant sensor tests will have to wait, as well as the unnecessary tune-ups on the Battle Shell, and the very unimportant routine checks on the perimeters alarms. After all, my job is to fix everything that breaks," he muttered. With a sigh the turtle picked up the tool box and sat down in front of the DVD player.

"Don, the bathroom sink is clogged…" Leonardo who now stood in the doorway didn't get further. Donatello almost instantly stood up and in a bit robotic fashion walked towards him.

"Yeah, yeah, got nothing better to do. I'll fix it," he muttered and pushed past his older brother.

"Wait, aren't you… I meant." Leo had seen that his brother was working on something else and had simply intended to ask were the plunger was, but Donatello already disappeared down to the lower level of the lair and to the bathroom.

A bit confused over this reaction the blue masked ninja followed his brother down. Leonardo just missed it when Don walked into the bathroom after having fetched the plunger and a wrench.

"Mikey, you know what's wrong with Don? He's acting a little strange." The blue clad ninja approached Michelangelo who was lying in the couch watching the TVs.

"Any stranger than usual?" Mikey asked with a grin glancing at his sibling.

"I'm serious Mikey, he was obviously fixing something else and he just walked away from it when I mentioned that that the sink was clogged. I wasn't even going to ask him to fix it, I just wanted to know where the plunger was," Leo told the other turtle.

"Wow that is strange," the orange masked ninja agreed. Don usually never walked from a half-finished job. Not unless it was really necessary and clogged drain that all of them could actually fix, didn't apply under that category.

"The sink is unclogged," Don announced as he walked out of the bathroom. He had left the plunger in there but still held the wrench. He returned it to his workspace on the lower level.

"Ah thanks Don. That was unnecessary though, I was going to fix it myself," Leo said watching his purple masked brother more attentively.

"No problem it's just my job, nothing better to do," Don said with a shrug and began walking up the stairs to the second level.

"Wha… job?" Leonardo frowned when hearing Donatello say that.

"Don with nothing better to do?" Mikey rose up in a sitting position on the couch. "I thought he always had something to do."

"Ok I'm getting to the bottom of this," the leader said and followed the purple clad one up to the second level of the lair. He went straight to Donny's bedroom and noticed that his brother had resumed his work on the DVD player.

"Don, are you feeling alright?" Leo asked as he walked into the room.

"I'm fine," Donatello responded not stopping one moment to work on the DVD player.

"I mean, I could have easily fixed that clog myself. I just wanted to know where the plunger was, you could have continued with what you were doing here," the older turtle said.

"Why? It's my job, must do my job," Don said with a shrug.

"What are you talking about? This is not your job. Sure, we appreciate it that you can fix things and saving us a lot of trouble about replacing stuff. However, you shouldn't have to feel obligated to throw everything aside just for us. Even if I couldn't have fixed it that clog could have waited," Leonardo told his brother.

"Nothing better to do," Don muttered and continued to work on the player.

"That's not true either; you always have something to do. I mean what is your latest project about again?" the blue masked turtle asked hoping that would snap his brother out of what ever funk he apparently was in. Don was always eager to explain his projects if his brothers asked about them.

"Unimportant and unnecessary sensor test." Donatello shrugged again and continued with the DVD player.

Leonardo's brow rose skywards and his eyes opened wide. Had his brother just called a sensor test, no doubt part of their lair's security, unimportant and unnecessary?

"Ah Don, maybe you should finish those tests first. I'm sure Raph and Mikey can live without the DVD player until then," Leo said with a concerned frown. Lair security was much more important than a blasted entertainment device.

"Must finish my job," Don said and continued to work on the player.

"Stop calling this a job, this is not your job!" Leonardo almost shouted and just about managed to restrain himself. His words fell to deaf ears. He gave up for now and left the room.

The blue masked turtle climbed down the stairs and headed for Splinter's chamber. He knocked softly on the door and his sensei beckoned him to come in. Leo slid the door open and walked inside. The old rat sat on his meditation mat and his son bowed in respect.

"Sensei, I need to speak with you about Donatello," Leonardo said once he was kneeling in front of his father.

"What is it my son?" the old ninja master asked, pouring a cup of tea for both himself and the turtle.

"Well, he's acting strange all of the sudden. He seems to have gotten the idea that he's obligated to fix everything that needs fixing. He even called a security test unimportant while fixing a DVD player, which could easily wait while he does those tests," Leonardo explained and then told Splinter exactly what had happened just few minutes earlier.

"Hm, clearly something has planted that seed of an idea into him. Who brought him that DVD player to fix?" Splinter asked.

"Well, either Raph or Mikey, they are the ones who usually manage to break it," Leo said shrugging. "Probably Raph, I don't think Mikey has been watching any of his DVD's today."

"Where is Raphael now?" the old rat wondered while sipping his tea.

"Don't really know, his room probably," his son answered.

"Go fetch him for me," Splinter instructed, Leo nodded and was beginning to stand up when a loud crash caught their attention. The turtle and the rat exchanged a startled look before both rushing out of the room.

Leonardo was surprised to see the DVD player smashed on the floor after having been thrown off from the second level. Mikey looked up startled from the couch and then Raphael came fleeing down the stairs.

"THAT'S IT! I QUIT!" a voice shouted that sounded very much like Donatello's.

Raphael had halted once he had reached the lower level and looked up startled, but he cringed at the sight of the smashed and scattered electronic. Then the turtle noticed that he was the center of the attention and he tried his best to reassume his usual attitude.

"Ah well, I just," he said failing miserably.

"Raphael, care to explain what just happened?" Splinter asked sternly. The red clad turtle winched, he could probably keep up his attitude against his brothers. Against his sensei was another matter.

"I was tryin' to apologize for earlier… I kinda opened my mouth too much… I um… opened it again too much," he admitted. "I kind of told him… er… I implied… no I told him…"

"Raphael, please follow me to my room," Splinter said when it was evident that his hot-tempered son wasn't going to speak clearly. Raph cringed again but obeyed following his sensei to his room.

Leonardo scratched his head and then sighed before going to the kitchen to find a broom. The turtle cleaned up what was left of the DVD player and threw it away, not even Donatello would be able to fix it now.

The blue masked turtle walked up to the second level and approached Donatello's room. Peeking inside he saw his purple masked brother sitting by the computer, staring at the far sidewall. He didn't even give the monitor a slight glance.

"Um Donny," Leo addressed him. Don glanced over his shoulder so one eye stared at the other turtle.

"I'm sorry, shouldn't have done that… I'll fix it later," he muttered in a dejected tone.

"If you mean the DVD player, I'm afraid it was destroyed. I threw it away," his brother told him. Donatello sighed.

"Alright, I'll go to the junkyard and see if I can find another one," the purple masked one whispered and stood up from the chair, clearly intending to do just that.

"Don." Leo didn't get further as his brother walked past him and went straight down to the lower levels. Before the blue clad ninja could stop the turtle, he had already entered the elevator and was on his way up to the warehouse.

"Hey where is Donny going?" Mikey asked as he came out of the kitchen with a bowl of popcorn.

"To the junkyard," Leonardo said as he approached the elevator.

"Meh, maybe we should allow him to be alone for awhile, he sure seemed to need it," the orange clad turtle suggested and planted himself back on the couch.

"Yes… maybe you're right," Leo stopped and went instead to the dojo. He drew up his katana and began a complicated kata.

At that moment both Raphael and Splinter walked out of the rat's room. The old ninja master looked around with a slight frown.

"Did I hear right that Donatello has left?" he asked.

"He went to the junkyard to replace the DVD-player that was destroyed," Leonardo explained as he continued his practice.

"Should I go after him?" Raphael asked glancing at his father. Splinter was thinking, stroking his muzzle thoughtfully.

"Leave him be for now. If he hasn't returned before dinner, you go," his sensei told him.

"So what was that all about?" Leonardo asked from the dojo.

"That is between Raphael and Donatello, if they wish to tell about it, they will," Splinter said before he returned to his chamber. Raphael grumbled something and jumped towards his punching bag.

* * *

"VCR player," Donatello grunted and threw the device over his shoulder and continued to dig in the pile. He found another hard box and dug it up.

"Another VCR player," he groaned and tossed it away as well.

"I guess the DVDs are so common now that people are just getting rid of the VCR players," the turtle shook his head and went to another pile hoping he would be luckier there.

The events earlier were not very high on his mind; all he could really think of was finding a new DVD player. He knew Leo was right; nothing could have survived a fall that high. He had just finally become a little bit frustrated over Raph's attitude. Now, with this distraction of finding a new player, he had mellowed out again.

He felt a little bit stupid for having let Raphael get to him; sometimes Raph just forgot to think before he talked. This had just been one of these cases.

Donatello moved to another junk pile and began burrowing through it. Although he didn't find a DVD player, he had already found a lot of other useful stuff he could use. The turtle had piled some of it up already. He did have to restrain himself; he had come here by the rooftop route meaning he would have to carry it back home.

The turtle was brought out of his digging by a sound of a can skipping over the ground. Somebody had kicked it, accidentally or on purpose to announce his or hers presence. Don looked up but didn't see anybody. Tthe ninja frowned; he clearly felt he was not alone.

 _I'm maybe the handy-turtle, but I am still a ninja,_ he thought as he rose up reaching for his Bo staff.

The attack came from the left. Don ducked just as a Foot Soldier flew over him, having intended to kick the turtle in the head. The mutant frowned and pulled out his staff and swung it at the man.

The soldier ducked and drew up his katana from the back strap and blocked another strike from Don's Bo. However, the turtle was quicker, managed to tangle the weapon between the human's legs and sweep him off his feet. Then he used the end of his staff to knock him out.

Donatello turned only to see more Foot coming over the various junk hills in the yard. The turtle frowned; there was no question about it that this was an ambush.

 _How long have they been waiting for this?_ he thought. Two more soldiers attacked and his Bo went swinging into action. This time he knocked the wind out of one by jamming his staff in the man's gut, he broke the jaw of the other one by ramming the weapon at his head.

More came and Don found him self busy dodging, ducking and blocking for few minutes. He managed to retaliate and knock few more humans out commission but more and more kept coming. Donatello frowned; they had clearly anticipated he would be here, probably had figured it out that at least one of them regulated here.

Don quickly realized that he wasn't going to win this fight, there were just too many of them. He glanced around while ducking from katana strike and spotted an opening he could run into. Using his staff like a baseball bat, he quickly managed to clear a way and darted off, unfortunately with the enemy hot on his tail.

He did managed to escape from the junkyard and up to the rooftops of the city before the next attack, Don mentally scolded him self. They wanted him to go into this direction. Foot soldiers just suddenly appeared on the roof all around him.

 _Shell._ Don took battle position and wondered what to do, he suddenly remembered his Shell-Cell. However, when he reached for it, the turtle also recalled having left it back at the lair since it always had a fuzzy signal and he wanted to fix it.

"Crap," Donny couldn't but use a stronger colorful metaphor this time. He couldn't call for backup.

The Foot attacked and Don swung the Bo, kicked and punched the best he could. He saw that their game was. They were going to tire him out, just playing with him until he would drop down in exhaustion.

 _Have to get out of here,_ he thought and began trying to clear away from the horde of ninjas surrounding him. The turtle growled when he received a cut on his arm. He had been a moment too late to block the sword.

 _This is just like… when Leo was ambushed._ Don finally managed to pry himself from the fighting circle and immediately took off for the next roof.

He continued to run and jump. He couldn't return to the warehouse least his enemies would know the turtles used it sometimes to access their lair. Don noticed that he was being followed by at least thirty soldiers and no doubt more were on their way.

 _Raph would fight, Leo would fight if he saw no other way, Mikey well…_ Don didn't get further a hard kick hit him in the plastron sending the turtle flying to the roof pavement.

 _Foot-tech,_ Donatello gasped when he saw nothing that could have attacked him. A kick hit him in the bridge. The turtle grunted and quickly rose up but was punched in the jaw by an invisible hand and then kicked once more in the plastron.

 _Got to get out of here._ Don was kneeling looking warily around, listening to any sound. He heard a soft footstep approach from behind. Quickly the turtle spun and kicked, his foot did hit something and he heard a thud. A man in a blue uniform with strange goggles flickered into view. At that moment, the Foot Soldier horde caught up with him.

 _DAMN_. Don rose up grabbing his Bo staff once more and took position. With a roar he charged towards his enemies and swung his staff madly, he just wanted to get rid of them all, then go home and sleep for the next few weeks.

Somebody got within his defenses and gave him a cut on the shoulder; Don winched and was kicked in the face. The turtle fell to his knees and found himself quickly in a pile of kicking and punching enemies.

"ARRG!" he growled and somehow managed to pry himself loose and used his staff like a battering ram to knock three soldiers away. He rose to his feet, stumbling but kept spinning his staff with both hands. Then slammed it into approaching soldiers and punched another one.

The turtle felt for his shoulder wound and grimaced at the sight of blood on his hand. He didn't have time to worry about it, the rest of the soldiers came and once more his staff was swung into action.

Don spotted an opening in the circle and quickly darted towards it, ramming his staff into anybody who got too close. The turtle escaped to the next rooftop and continued to another one. His only hope was to lose his pursuers before trying to locate a manhole to escape through.

His body was aching, blood was dripping freely from his wounds and he was becoming very tired. The turtle scolded himself for both forgetting his cell and for not having taken the Battle Shell or the Shell Cycle to the yard. He could have made an easier get away with the vehicles.

Donatello grimaced in pain, groaned in frustration when seeing more soldiers behind him and on the rooftops from the sides.

 _I guess I know now how Leo was feeling when he was ambushed,_ the turtle thought cringing at the memory. He could still remember the shock of seeing his brother flung through the window, badly injured, barely alive.

Now the same thing was happening to him. Donny wondered how long the Foot had been planning this. He had clearly been expected, there were just too many soldiers attacking for this to be a spontaneous attack.

He was surrounded once more and for a moment, the turtle just stood half-bent staring at his enemies. The Bo was only being held in on hand, the other resting on his thigh while Don wondered if he should just surrender and hope his brother would eventually come to his rescue.

 _No, no thoughts like that._ He stood up straight and swirled his staff with one hand before taking battle position. Then with a yell he charged and so did the Foot.

Now the turtle fought madder than ever, simply trying to knock enough humans out in order to escape. He didn't even cringe at the sound of crushing bone when his staff landed on one man's head, taking him out for good. Don's weapon was maybe just a long piece of wood, but that didn't mean it couldn't kill.

Donatello didn't even worry about that, he simply tried to get away. He was all cut up and bruised, bleeding and exhausted. Finally, a katana struck his Bo so hard that it went in two halves. The turtle stumbled backwards staring dazed at his now broken weapon.

He looked up only to see a fist coming; the ninja ducked and used one broken half of his staff to impale it into the man. He then threw the other half like a javelin and it knocked out another approaching soldier.

Weaponless the turtle jumped and aimed a kick at the nearest soldier. As he landed, he blocked an incoming punch and sweep kicked his opponent off the ground. He was outnumbered, the humans swarmed over him and the turtle soon found himself on his knees. He buried his face in his arms too exhausted and in roaring pain to continue. The soldiers surrounded him and waited, wondering if there would be more reactions from the turtle.

"Ok the fun is over, let's put him out of the misery of existence," somebody said.

"The fun isn't over, it's just beginning!" was suddenly growled. The soldiers left Don as somebody else was now attacking them.

Donatello glanced up and saw a familiar looking hockey stick swinging high in the air and ramming into the soldiers. The turtle tried to rise up but his knees gave in and he fell back to the ground.

"Yo fellas, I spotted Donny being chased around by Foot goons. We're on the rooftops of Fifth and Main. Ya better hurry, Donny isn't lookin' very healthy." Don heard the familiar voice of Casey Jones reaching his ears.

"You dudes really need to learn how to play fair," Casey growled and rammed his hockey stick into a soldier before swinging it taking five soldiers out at once.

The man had been on his usual vigilante patrol when he had spotted Donatello fleeing over the rooftops with a horde of soldiers after him. It had taken Casey a bit to get up to a rooftop and then of course he had to follow the well trained ninjas. He had just arrived when one Foot soldier had been preparing to ram a katana into Don.

His main thought was to get the soldiers attention away from the turtle. The human had spotted Donny trying but failing to stand up. Casey saw then that his green buddy was in no shape to fight more.

"Goongala!" he yelled before hitting more soldiers with his hockey stic, but the element of surprise was soon used up and the rest of the ninjas wouldn't be caught off guard now.

Casey placed himself in front of Don who now lay completely still on the ground. The soldiers approached, most of them wielding katanas. The human sneered at them from behind his mask.

Then he spotted where three shadows came running from a nearby roof and almost flew over the alley and towards them. The man grinned knowing very well who had just arrived.

"Leave it to you Casey to hog all the fun," Raphael smirked as he drew up his sai but it froze when he saw Donatello. "Donny!"

"Let's get take care of those goons first," Leo ordered, his katana were drawn and two turtles joined Casey in attacking the soldiers.

Michelangelo hesitated at the sight of his unconscious brother. He gulped remembering that he had suggested they left Don alone, didn't follow him to the junkyard.

"Mikey! Stop daydreaming and help us here," Raph snapped as his sai were plunged into an enemy soldier.

The remaining soldier now started to flee, seeing that they were being outclassed. Raph and Casey chased some of them but Leo and Mike went straight to Don.

"Ok he's still breathing, help me pick him up," Leonardo said after checking his brother for vital signs. "We have to get him down into the sewers."

Mikey nodded trying to withhold both his tears and sobs. The realization was slowly hitting him. The blue masked turtle spotted the regret in his brother's face and his eyes narrowed.

"This was not your fault Mikey." Leonardo remembered now what the orange clad turtle had suggested back in the lair. "I agreed with you, and Splinter told us to stay put as well."

His brother didn't answer, just sniffled and nodded. The two turtles picked up their brother cringing at the sight of all his injuries. Raph and Casey soon joined them.

"Help us get him down," Leo said as he and Mike carried Donatello towards the nearest fire escape.

"Damn those Foot goons," Raph snarled while he was helping his brothers to ease Don down the building. _Damn my big mouth and me._

"What on earth was Donny doing with all those foot soldiers after him," Casey wondered.

Leonardo didn't answer; he was having few nasty memories resurfacing. Back when he had been chased around by an army of Foot soldiers, barely alive when he was thrown through a window of April's old apartment.

"Let's just get him back to the lair," he finally said. "Questions will be answered later."

* * *

Splinter was naturally shocked to see three of his sons and their human friend, carry unconscious Donatello through the main entrance to the lair. However, he didn't need to waste any words; the direction was immediately taken to the infirmary.

Don was laid gently on the bed and Splinter with Leo's help began tending his wounds. Raph, Casey and Mikey stood nearby watching, waiting and fearing the worst. Don hadn't made a sound or a movement the whole way back to the lair, the only indication he was still alive was his breathing.

"What happened my sons?" Splinter finally asked once Don was all wrapped up in bandages and his worst cuts stitched.

"Casey saw Don being chased by Foot soldiers Master Splinter," Leo told him.

"Yeah and they would probably have killed him if I hadn't been there in time. One goon was about to hack Donny with a sword," Casey told them. "I dunno why they were chasing him. I just got to the end of it."

"Thank you very much for your assistance Mr. Jones," the old rat thanked the human bowing slightly.

"Hey no problem, you guys are my friends and I help my friends," Casey said with a grin.

"All we can do now is wait," Splinter said glancing towards his son and sighed. This reminded him as well too much of when Leo had been attacked. Mikey approached the bed and sat beside it, staring dejected at the unconscious form lying on it.

A hand was laid on his shoulder, looking up the orange masked turtle saw Raph standing behind him. Mikey stifled a sob and looked down.

"I shouldn't have suggested that Leo left him alone," he whispered. "If Leo had gone with him… then maybe…"

"No Mikey, it was my fault," Raph claimed, squeezing his brother's shoulder slightly. "I opened my big beak too much, twice in fact. If I hadn't, he wouldn't even had a reason to go there."

Raphael sighed and glanced around, noticing that everybody safe for Mikey and Don stared at him.

"I kind of told him that it was his job to fix things around here… that he had nothing better to do…" he admitted. "I then tried to apologize… and well I called him a Mr. Fix it. That set him off, and he threw the DVD player out of the room. I… well just like usual, didn't think before I spoke."

"So that's why he was acting so strange earlier today," Leonardo said shaking his head.

"We should appreciate a little more what Donatello does here for us. His skills with technology have aided us many times; it is a privilege that we have him at our side. He should not feel pressed or obligated to fix everything we break," Splinter said glancing at each of his waking sons and even looking at Casey.

"And he definitely has better things to do. I hope you haven't forgotten who designed the security of this lair and what helped keep it hidden from the Foot when we had to flee for a time." The old rat then reminded them.

The turtles, especially Raph and Mikey cringed at the reminder. Knowing full well how much time their brother did spend on upping the security, or working on their various gadgets that helped them survive their enemies.

Mikey put a hand on his brother's injured arm, hoping maybe that Don would wake up at the touch. Raphael still stood behind him. He was still scolding himself for his big beak from earlier.

"Come, there is nothing we can do but wait. Raphael you take the first watch, Michelangelo come," Splinter said and ushered his sons out as well as Casey. Raphael took Mikey's seat.

"Look, I'm sorry bro. I shouldn't have said what I said," the red masked turtle said quietly once everybody else was gone. "Of course you have better things to do; of course it isn't your job to fix everythin' I break in my rage."

"You're smarts have saved us so many times, just like Mikey lightens everythin' up with his positive attitude. You safe us a heap load of trouble with your techno-skills. Hey I wouldn't even have my Shell Cycle if it wasn't for you," Raphael continued. He gritted his teeth.

"I'm going to kill those Foot goons, how dare they do this?" he growled. "I should have just disobeyed, sure I would have been doing flips for life but at least I would have been there. Why didn't I just go after you?"

"No… why was I breaking that blasted DVD player in the first place," he sighed heavily and clasped his hands together while looking down. "I mean you had told me so many times that you knew about the freezin' problems. There was nothin' to be done about it but just restart the player. Dammit, for once I wish I had listened. Then you wouldn't be lyin' here."

Donatello stirred, mumbling something unheard. Raph glanced up and saw his brother shift a bit as if he was uncomfortable. Something back in Raphael's mind clicked, it was natural for turtles not to like being on their back as it could mean certain death. He and his brothers had for the most part abandoned much of their old turtle instincts, but sometimes some of them resurfaced.

However, Raphael knew he couldn't turn Don around to his plastron. The carapace was stronger and hadn't been injured, but the plastron had been cracked a bit and wouldn't be able to handle too much pressure least it cracked even more.

"Don't worry Don, I'm here. Nothing will happen," Raph took Don's left hand in his own. The purple masked turtle stopped shifting and mumbling.

"They are so going to pay for this," he growled under his breath.

 **End Chapter 1.**


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N:** Chapter originally written and posted on 17/03 2006

* * *

 **Chapter 2.**

"So what's the plan?" Raph growled as he entered the kitchen. Leonardo was sitting by the kitchen table and seemingly heavy in thought.

"Well, first we must find out why. Casey said they had been ready to kill him so this was definitely not the same situation and happened when I was ambushed," Leo said cringing at the unpleasant memories.

"Maybe the Shredder just decided to take us out, one by one," Raphael grunted and sat down in front of his brother.

"Maybe, but wouldn't he have tried that already? Why wait for so long, especially since he seems so busy trying to look legit. This was obviously a planned ambush since there were so many of them, Don had clearly been fighting for some time. If it had been an unplanned attack, they would have been fewer and Donny would have easily escaped to safety," the blue masked turtle told his brother, who nodded in agreement.

"Casey said that one of the soldiers had said 'the fun is over'. You don't think this was just a sick game of theirs?" Raph wondered and gritted his teeth. Leonardo's brow sunk into a heavy frown.

"If it was, then the attack might not have been on Oroku Saki's orders. It might just have been random soldiers grouped together on a turtle hunt." Leo's eyes narrowed. "If it was, then it will be even harder to do something about it."

"I say we just find a random group of Foot goons and take care of them, show them what happens when you mess with us," Raph growled and hammered his fist on the table top. A crack formed on the wooden surface. "Those bastards almost killed him."

"I know Raph, I was there when he stopped breathing," Leo said between his teeth. "Splinter says he's out of imminent danger now. Fortunately."

"Yeah," the red clad ninja nodded.

"Is Mikey watching him now?" the older turtle asked.

"No, Master Splinter. Mikey… I don't know, haven't seen him much all day. He is spending a lot of time up in the warehouse, last I saw him he had a carving knife or somethin'," Raph shrugged. An eye ridge rose on Leonardo, wondering what their youngest brother was doing with a carving knife.

"We could capture a single soldier and interrogate him," Raphael then suggested and smirked evilly.

"Hm, that might actually be the best solution to know what the shell was going on." Leo agreed. Raph was impressed, not everyday that his older brother agreed to his ideas.

"So are we goin' now or later?" the red clad turtle rose up from his chair, Leonardo did as well.

"I'm going to check with Master Splinter first, then we go," the leader said and walked out of the kitchen and right to the infirmary. Raphael followed hoping that their father didn't think this was a bad idea, especially since Leo had agreed to it.

As they approached, they could hear voices coming from the room. The turtles looked at each other startled and then towards the infirmary again.

"…then as I was on Fifth and Main I think… I was surrounded again; I tried to fight my way out of it. But my Bo was cut in half and I was getting tired and had already lost blood…"

 _He's awake,_ Leo thought and so did Raph. They didn't walk now; the two ninjas ran into the infirmary. Donatello still lay in the bed but he was looking at Master Splinter, the purple masked turtle was telling about his attack.

"Don!" Raph shouted and rushed to his injured brother's bedside.

"Hi Raph," the injured turtle greeted his brother; he was pulled up in a sitting position and hugged tight by Raphael.

"Don't scare us like that again," the hot-tempered ninja said when he parted from him. Don smiled weakly and lay back down, after begin hugged by Leonardo as well.

"Your brother has just told me about his attack. He was ambushed in the junkyard but managed to escape to the rooftops, there they continued to chase him," Splinter told his two other sons. Raph and Leo both had a stunned expression on their faces when hearing that.

 _From the junkyard to Fifth and Main? That's no short distance, he fought longer than I thought he did._ Leonardo was amazed. His brother had not had to fight as long as he back when he was ambushed, but still it was far enough.

"The last thing I remember is hearing Casey," Don finished his story for Splinter.

"Mr. Jones saved your life and called for your brothers for assistance," his sensei told him.

"Yeah… I forgot my cell… I left it on my table, I was going to fix it," the purple masked one said sadly. "Couldn't call."

"Hey, it's ok," Leo said placing a hand gently on his brother's injured shoulder. "You weren't exactly expecting to be ambushed."

"I know you are very happy to see your brother awake, but we must allow him to continue resting for now," Splinter said and stood up from the chair. Leo and Raph nodded and walked out of infirmary after giving Don some get well greetings first.

"Master Splinter… I'm sorry," Don said once his brothers had left.

"For what my son?" the old rat asked.

"How I behaved and left the lair unannounced and all. If I hadn't let Raph get to me, I wouldn't even gone to the junkyard," the turtle explained with a sorrowful sigh. "I almost got killed."

"Do not worry about that now Donatello, just rest," Splinter said and gently put one hand on his son's brow. "I need to go and talk with your brothers, but I will be right outside if you need anything."

"Thanks, father." Don smiled weakly and closed his eyes, drifting slowly into peaceful slumber.

Splinter smiled warmly at his son before leaving the infirmary. He met with Raph and Leo who waited outside. The two turtles immediately turned towards him, bowing respectfully.

"Master Splinter we wanted to talk with you about the situation," Leonardo began; his sensei nodded indicating that he should continue.

"Well, it's a bit unclear why this happened. Apparently, Don ambushed to be killed. Raph suggested that we capture a Foot soldier and try interrogating him for information," the blue clad turtle said. "I agree with him because this might be the only way to gain information on what is going on. There are chances that this attack was not on the Shredder's orders."

"True, it would be strange that he tried now and not sooner, especially since he seems to be busy with his current scheme of appearing legit," Splinter said stroking his muzzle thoughtfully.

"We wouldn't bring him to the lair, just take him somewhere secluded for the interrogation," Leo told his sensei.

"Indeed, I suggest you go now and try to gain further information about this attack," the rat suggested and then frowned slightly. "Try pick an informant that shows the least skills, chances are then that it is a new recruit or at least inexperienced. They would be more prone to talk under pressure."

Leo and Raph both grinned, this was Splinter giving them permission to go and capture a soldier. The turtles nodded and bowed for their master before heading for the elevator. The old ninja master watched his two oldest sons leave the lair before returning to the infirmary. He confirmed that Don was still sleeping before leaving and walked to his recliner near the entertainment center and sat down.

Up in the warehouse Leo and Raph located Mikey who was busy with something in one corner of it. He seemed to be working with wood, carving it with a knife. Nearby was an open book and occasionally the orange clad turtle would take a glance at it.

"Mikey, we are leaving on an information hunt, we'll need you," Leo said as they approached their brother. Mike glanced over his shoulder and nodded. He put his knife away and closed the book.

"Ok guys, we are going to capture a single Foot soldier, let's keep a careful watch on anybody who shows slightest hesitation or any other giveaway signs of inexperience," the blue masked turtle instructed his brothers as they sneaked out of the warehouse. "Raph call Casey and tell him to meet us, the more we are, the more likely we are to capture somebody."

* * *

On the rooftops five men dressed in the common Foot Soldier uniform sneaked around, being careful to remain unseen as they did a patrol around the many salvage sites that their employer, Oroku Saki was operating in.

The five men stopped for a moment on top of a large building that was the furthest point of their patrol. One of them looked around and frowned under his mask.

"Where is Samson?" he whispered but before anyone answered, the soldier in question appeared.

"Sorry, I thought I saw something," he said. That put the soldiers immediately on the alert; if you thought you saw something that normally meant you did, especially if it were the turtles.

"Try to stay close; you're still inexperienced and on a delicate patrol duty. Our Master will have our heads if unwanted visitors manage to disrupt this operation," the leader of the group said. Samson nodded. His fellow soldiers were still looking around tense; at least four of them had tangled with the turtles before and knew they could conceal their presence easily.

"Alright, if things work out here the Peer group is planning another hunt. We failed to kill the freak that had been spotted in the junkyard, so we are going to singling out the one who is always with the crazy man with the hockey mask," the leader started to explain once the soldiers had relaxed again since they hadn't been attacked yet.

"Samson, you are new in this group. It's very important that neither Hun nor Karai knows about this group. It's working outside the usual parameters of the Master. As long as he doesn't know then won't hurt him or his interests," he then told the younger soldier, all the others just nodded.

"Now then, let's continue the patrol," the leader said but when he turned a dark green fist came out of the shadows, it hit him square on the face knocking him unconscious. Suddenly three turtles and one man surrounded the four standing soldiers.

"Looking for us?" Raph growled rubbing his knuckles were he stood over the fallen soldier. The remaining Foot instantly took battle positions, the turtles and Casey drew up their weapons.

Leo allowed the soldier nearest to him to come first; he swiftly dodged a strike from the man's katana and then swept him off his feet with a kick. As he knocked the human out the turtle noticed the soldier fighting Casey was showing a lot of amateurish moves.

 _That's our target,_ the blue clad turtle thought and narrowed his eyes on Samson and rushed forward. Michelangelo and Raphael made a short work out of their opponents and then noticed who their brother had singled out.

Samson froze when the young man saw he was surrounded. Holding his katana he turned in circles and gulped when seeing the sneering faces of the turtles. The man knew he couldn't fail, least his life was forfeit but he had never faced anybody but his fellow soldiers in sparring in the dojo.

The turtles charged and the soldier decided he rather face the wrath of his Master than these creatures. He quickly jumped and managed to get out of the circle and he ran off, he did not like what he heard next.

"After him!"

The turtles and Casey immediately ran after the fleeing soldier. Just as Leonardo had figured, he was inexperienced and probably on his first patrol duty. The others hadn't hesitated to attack; this one on the other hand had flinched. That was going to be his mistake.

Raph was the fastest and was on fire tonight. Leo had allowed him to take out the leader immediately and then the next soldier had stood no chance. The guy fleeing was not going to escape.

The red clad turtle couldn't see anything in his mind but the cut up and bruised form of his brother on the rooftop from two days ago. He still could remember Mikey's shout when Don had stopped breathing a day after that. Leo fortunately had managed to bring him back but the close call made Raph just thirst that much more for revenge.

He was gaining on the fleeing man; the soldier was obviously panicking. Raph grinned evilly; the tables had indeed turned now, he was hunting them instead of vice versa.

Finally with a roar, the turtle slammed his body into the man who was flung to the ground. Raphael had to restrain himself as they wanted the man alive but was quick to knock him out.

"Ok, let's pick him up and take him to our 'interrogation room'," Leo said as he, Mikey and Casey caught up with Raph.

* * *

"Here, drink this my son," Splinter handed Don the cup. The turtle accepted it and carefully sipped on the warm drink. The back of the bed had been raised so the turtle was mostly in a sitting position, he didn't have enough strength yet to sit on his own for long.

"Thanks sensei," the purple masked ninja whispered, he held the small container with both hands. "Where are the guys?"

"Your brothers are on a mission to gain more information on your attack. It raised few questions that need to be answered," the rat told him. Donatello nodded and sipped his tea. He sighed sadly when lowering his hands from the mouth.

"What troubles you?" Splinter asked, seeing the sorrow in his son's eyes.

"I…I thought… well," the turtle turned one hand to look at a healed cut on the back. "I feel so stupid. This happened because I let Raph's words affect me. Deep inside I knew he didn't mean it; he just spoke before realizing what he said. Still it hurt to hear them and I just felt unappreciated. Selfish I know, but I was in a middle of a project and…"

"Shh," Splinter hushed the turtle once his voice became more frantic, placing one hand gently on his shoulder. "You were not being selfish, insensitive words spoken intentionally or not can hurt deep. Especially when they come from somebody you love and care about. I have already spoken to Raphael and he told me that this was indeed a slip of a tongue for him. I'm sure he will want to apologize when he returns."

"Still it was no excuse for me to act like I did," Don muttered and finished the tea. Splinter accepted the cup back and put it on a nearby table.

"You acted like anybody would who feels he's being pushed around and unappreciated, unloved. It's a rare occurrence to see you angry Donatello and I'm always glad that when it happens it is quick to go away. I'm very proud of you my son, you cannot be blamed for how things went. Your actions did not prompt our enemies to ambush you. Raphael's words were not what gave them a reason to attack. There is no link between these two events. If I have understood correctly what you have told me, these Foot Soldiers have been waiting for a while for you or one of your brothers to show," Splinter told his son. The turtle smiled weakly but dropped it shortly after.

"There were so many of them, sometimes they attacked all at once and sometimes some held back… I… I used my Bo to kill," Donatello gulped. Splinter sighed; he knew his son's mindset well.

"It was either you or them, you understand that Donatello. And they would not have hesitated to kill you," the rat said.

"Oh I know… I understand that Master Splinter," the turtle looked at his sensei and smiled uneasily. "But it will always be slightly disturbing remember. At one point, I was almost like mad… I-I remember the bones crushing now. Oh shell I impaled a man with it."

Splinter understood what his son was going through. In a heat of a battle, you didn't think much about what you heard or saw or did, but once everything was quiet and you had time to think it over. It could be very hard; Donatello had always been the most peaceful of his sons. He was no amateur fighter, could fight just as well as his brothers and was just as deadly ninja. However, he still preferred to think his ways out of problems.

"My son, try not to think about it. Do not dwell on it, clear your mind." The old rat decided that it was time they took a small meditation session. It would probably help much more than words.

Donatello took a deep breath and stopped thinking about the ambush. Splinter sat now cross-legged in the chair, but do to his condition the turtle was excused from sitting in the correct position.

"Now let your mind flow freely, do not think about the past. Focus on the present," he instructed. Don closed his eyes and did what he was told.

It was a half an hour session and for the first ten minutes it was a struggle. The events from two days earlier always threatened to play back. Donatello stubbornly maintained his focus, clearing his mind and let everything flow.

Splinter ended the session with a smile. He had detected his son's struggle to keep up. Not to think about the past. Yet he had pulled through it, so it was clear that his mind wasn't as troubled about the events as the ninja master had feared. Still he could still feel the sadness from the turtle.

"Remember always Donatello, you fought with honor. They fought to kill," he finally said.

"Yes sensei," Don tried his best to bow without stressing his plastron.

"I have already spoken to Mr. Jones, he has agreed to take you to his farmhouse once you are well enough to walk. You will spend at least one month there for rest and recuperation," Splinter told his son. The turtle looked at him with a slight frown, wondering if there was going to be a catch to this.

"And when I mean rest, I mean no fixing anything. You are now officially on a break from anything of such sort," the rat finished.

"B-but, but," Don started to protest but was hushed.

"This is not open for negotiation. You will be allowed to take your computer with you and anything that you are building and you feel like working on. But if anything breaks, you are to leave it alone," Splinter said with a smile.

"Okay, okay," Donatello surrendered but he just knew this was going to be one weird month.

* * *

"Ok time to wake him up," Leo said when the soldier was securely strapped to a chair. Mikey walked forward with a bucket full of water and promptly poured the contents over the man.

He woke up gasping and sputtering; they had removed his mask off his head so he swallowed a bit of the water and coughed for a moment. The human then gasped when seeing the three turtles standing in front him. Casey was behind the chair just in case the guy tried to get loose.

"W-what is going on?" the soldier asked although he wasn't sure he wanted to know. Leonardo stepped forward with his arms folded, glaring at the human.

"We heard each and every word that went between you and your fellow Foot Soldiers. And we know you were involved in an attack on one of our own two days ago," Leo began as his eyes narrowed. "Now we have few inquires to make."

"I-I'll never talk," Samson stammered, there wasn't much determination in his voice.

"You had better." Leo bent a bit to be in eyelevel with the man. Then he gave a slight gesture with his head towards Raphael. "I can only restrain my brother so much and he's more than ready to avenge our brother you and your fellow scum bags almost killed."

Casey was mildly surprised to hear Leo being so intimidating. It was clear to him that the blue masked turtle was just as pissed as the rest of them. This probably touched him though even deeper since what happened to Don, happened to him as well.

Samson tried to hold the stern gaze from the turtle in front of him, but it was difficult; the soldier could see the anger in his eyes. He figured if they didn't need information, he wouldn't even be alive. The man was wrong about that as he didn't know that Leo had no intentions to kill him despite who he was and worked for.

"W-what is it you need to know?" he asked. Leo rose up never taking his eyes off him.

"Was the attack on the orders of Oroku Saki?" the turtle asked.

"No," Samson answered. "As far as he knows we just happened to stumble up on the fre…"

"I would be careful what you call my brothers," Leo snapped cutting him short.

"I was not in the attack itself but I heard about it, not all of us participated," the man then said flinching under the ice-cold stares he was getting.

"And who are 'us'?" the blue clad ninja asked. At that Samson closed his mouth, if he told about the secret group his fellow members would kill him, but as far as he was concerned his life was already forfeit.

"They are called the 'Peer Group'. It's a faction within the Foot that works in secret. Master Saki, Hun or Karai have no knowledge of it. It doesn't always work with in the master's parameters," he explained finally "It was formed shortly after the Triceraton invasion, it was determined to hunt down any or all alien life forms that might have still have been left on earth. I don't know all the details yet, I'm still just a new recruit."

"Hunt? What gives you the right to be a judge, jury and executioner?" Leo asked with a growl.

"Hey your freak brother killed plenty of my friends…" Samson shut up immediately when Leo sneered and drew up a katana.

"If my brother killed anybody it was in self-defense. For his own life while he was being viciously attacked and chased down to exhaustion, while your friends were going to kill for the sake of killing," the turtle snapped. "Your friends attacked first, your friends had full intensions to kill him while all he wanted was to get away, preferably without killing anybody."

"We may be freaks of nature in your eyes, vicious animals that should be put down. But let me tell you something, we never start conflicts," the blue masked turtle raised his sword. "But we finish them."

Samson closed his eyes winching as the sword went down. The man was surprised to feel his hands and feet being cut loose. He carefully opened his eyes again to only to confirm that he was free from his bonds. Leonardo still stood in front of him, staring down at him grim faced.

"You're free to go; you have told us all we needed and you can tell your 'Peer' group that we will be watching for them," he said and sheathed the sword. "Raphael, kindly show him the way out."

"My pleasure," Raph growled grabbing the man and yanked him off the chair. The others watched the red clad one drag the soldier further into the dark room.

"Alright guys, it's time to see where he goes," Leo said.

"You really think this group has a secret meeting place?" Mikey asked while scratching his head.

"It makes sense Mikey, especially if they don't want the Shredder or any of his top people to know about them. They have to be able to speak with to each other far away from prying eyes," the blue masked turtle said.

* * *

"Now if my calculations are correct, then in theory this should allow for a stronger signal from the Battle-Shell to the remote control," Don muttered as he jotted down notes on a notepad lying beside him in the bed. In his left hand was a calculator. "That would enable me to call for it from at least ten miles more distance than usual… but only in theory, won't be able to test it until I return from the farmhouse."

He was interrupted in his calculations when there was a knock on the infirmary doorway; the turtle looked up to see Raphael standing there.

"Master Splinter said you were awake," his brother said as he walked in. Don noticed that he had a bandage wrapped around his left arm.

"Yeah… uh what happened to you?" the purple masked one asked. Raph glanced at his wounded limb and smirked.

"Ah nothing, just a scratch," he claimed with a shrug and walked all the way to the bed. "Lucky shot from a Foot Goon."

"You were fighting the Foot?" Donny asked surprised. His brother nodded while sitting down beside the bed.

"Found out that the soldiers that attacked you were a private club, not really working for their Master. Their attack on you was just a part of their twisted goal of ridding the earth of non-human creatures," the red masked ninja explained.

"Swell." Donatello rolled his eyes and glanced back to his notes; he saw an error and quickly fixed it almost forgetting he had a guest.

"So, I'm sorry what I said to you that other day. It was out of line and completely untrue," Raph said with uneasy smile. Don glanced back at him.

"Ah it's ok, I shouldn't have been so sensitive about it," the olive green turtle smiled.

"Well you had every right to be angry at me," Raphael claimed. "We almost lost you bro. I… I wanted to cut out my tongue when I heard you stopped breathing. So I wouldn't let it get others into trouble too."

"Hey Raph, its ok. I'm alive and this should be over now," Donatello said and picked up the notepad and tried to put it to the nightstand beside the bed. Raph grabbed it from his hand and put it there, he did the same with the calculator.

"You still look tired, maybe you should rest," the red clad turtle noted the tired expression on his brother.

"I am tired, but I have been sleeping so much today I just wanted to make few quick calculations," Don explained and then yawned. "Wish I didn't have to be on the carapace."

"Want me to lower the bed?" Raph asked and stood up. Then his brother nodded he lowered him down so the turtle was no longer sitting.

"So what exactly did you find out about this group?" Donatello wondered while his brother sat down again.

"Well the gist of it is that they wanted to get rid of any leftover aliens that were left after the Triceraton invasion, so few Foot soldiers formed this group and called themselves the 'Peers'. However, there weren't many aliens to really eliminate and then Oroku Saki began his salvaging operations. That didn't give those soldiers much time to do any real alien huntin', so they decided to pick the next best thing," Raphael explained.

"Namely us," Don guessed, his brother nodded.

"Yeah, what Leo gathered from their files is they had been tailin' us for few months. Always lost us though but they managed to gather enough facts about two of us, you and me," Raph continued and wasn't surprised to see the shock arrive on the injured turtle.

"Yeah, they figured you went regularly to the junkyard and I go regularly skull bustin' with Casey. They picked you first because they thought you would be the easiest to bring down," he continued and then smirked. "Guess ya showed them how wrong they were about that."

"You guys got all that from their files?" Don asked frowning.

"Well Leo did, when we attacked their secret meetin' place he stumbled up on some files the group apparently kept record of. We of course destroyed the ones about us," Raph said with a shrug. "And the rest we sent gift wrapped along with the leader to Foot HQ."

"You sent them to Foot headquarters?" the purple masked ninja's brow rose. Raph chuckled at his brother's expression.

"Believe me, Mr. Saki will not like what he sees," he said with a broad smile. "In fact, he will unknowingly be helpin' us avengin' your ambush."

"Ok you got me, why should he even care that parts of his soldiers were turtle hunting?" Donatello wondered.

"Oh he won't know about the turtle huntin' part. But he'll know all about all the valuable resources they have been usin' on a wild goose chase for aliens," Raph told him. The olive green one had to admit, that might actually work.

"Ok bro I'm goin' to let you rest now," the red masked turtle said when Don tried to stifle a tired yawn. He rose up from the chair and before leaving, he put a hand on his brother's shoulder.

"Oh did Splinter tell ya that Casey is takin' you to the farm?" he asked, when Don nodded he smiled. "Alright then, rest up. You're goin' to need it."

"Thanks Raph," Don whispered.

"No, thank you. For all the stuff you have done for us in the past," Raphael said before he left the room.

 **End chapter 2.**


	3. Epilogue

**A/N:** Chapter originally written and posted on 18/03/2006

* * *

 **Epilogue.**

' _Man Don, I never figured there was so much more to your weapon,' Mikey said were he sat beside the infirmary bed. In his hands was a book labeled 'Martial arts weapons'. The orange clad turtle glanced at his unconscious brother._

' _I mean from a distance it looks like an ancient broom stick or something, no offense though bro. But it has just as good history and the nunchucks, who would have thunk it,' he chuckled and turned a page on the book._

 _However, his attention was diverted from his reading when thinking he heard a gasp. The turtle looked at the bed and frowned. Don's breathing was becoming much more erratic. Mikey stood up and put the book away, suddenly his brother's chest rose high but once it sunk down again it stopped moving._

' _G-Guys!' the young turtle yelled and ran to the doorway. 'GUYS COME QUICK SOMETHING IS WRONG WITH DONNY!'_

 _Leonardo came running and from the upper level Raphael jumped down. The blue clad turtle pushed past Mikey and almost froze when he immediately noticed no chest movement on his injured brother._

 _Rushing to the bed he immediately checked for a pulse and cringed, there was none and no breathing._

' _No!' Leo growled and began performing CPR on Don. Watching him, startled and worried were his two other brothers and Master Splinter._

' _Breathe dammit!' Leonardo snarled as he thrust his hands on Don's chest to get the hearth beating again._

 _Raph was shaking as he watched Leo trying to safe their brother's life. Gritting his teeth, he put one hand on his sai. The red masked ninja was about to pull it up but a grey furry hand was laid on it. Splinter stared him straight in the eyes and then shook his head._

' _I'm just going to…' Raph said under his breath._

' _You are not molesting yourself Raphael, I'm certain that Donatello would not want that,' Splinter said sternly and then gestured towards the bed._

 _Leo was now sitting on the chair breathing heavily and sweat pouring down his head. His eyes were closed and his hands were holding the edge of the bed. Donatello's chest was slowly and steadily rising up and down._

' _I-is he ok?' Mikey asked._ _Leonardo opened his eyes and glanced towards his family._ _He let out a heavy sigh but nodded._

' _He's breathing… he got pulse… he should live,' he said and then he gritted his teeth hard and his eyes narrowed. 'They are going to pay for this!'_

' _Calm yourself my son. Right now your brother needs you more by his side,' Splinter said. Leo looked down and nodded._

Leonardo opened his eyes and realized he had been dreaming. He rose up into a sitting position in the bed with on hand on his forehead. It had been about when he had just barely managed to save Don. He still could remember his fright when seeing the completely still body.

Looking up he noticed that the bed Donatello was using was empty; the turtle frowned and looked around in the attic. They were in the farmhouse and it was now just about four weeks since Don had been ambushed and almost killed. Few days after Don had woken up; Casey had taken him and Leo to the farm.

The blue masked ninja had insisted on going too. It was both to keep an eye on his brother during his recuperation period and to get some rest himself. He only admitted it to Splinter but this whole event had reminded him just too badly of what happened to himself, he felt he needed a break from the city and to calm down.

Leonardo rose up from the bed and went to the stairs that led down from the large attic of the farmhouse. He could hear rustling and shook his head smiling before descending the steps.

As he suspected he found Don in the kitchen. The turtle was sitting by the table and was his back turned towards the doorway. He was clearly working on something and Leo suspected what it was.

"Ahem," Leo cleared his throat; Don flinched and glanced over his shoulder. His expression alone spoke volumes. He had been busted.

"Didn't Splinter instruct you on something before we came here," the older turtle said as he walked closer. Donatello turned in his chair smiling nervously.

"Ah… I well…," he said scratching the back of his neck. He still had bandages around his chest and hands.

"Master Splinter said no fixing," Leo said and indicated to what lay now in parts on the table. It was the waffle iron; it was always blowing a fuse so they couldn't use it. Don insisted he could fix the problem but wasn't allowed, he was to rest and not come near anything that needed to be fixed.

"I well… I couldn't sleep. I came down here to have a glass of water and… well that iron was just lying there on the table… and I found a screwdriver and well…" Don shrugged smiling innocently now.

Leonardo grabbed a nearby chair and sat down beside his brother. He then pushed all the iron parts and the screwdriver further away, just to make a point that Donatello wasn't to touch them.

"Don, we are allowing you to rest from this responsibility you have taken on yourself. We can easily live without waffles. Don't worry about it," he said with a warm smile.

"Yeah I know," Don sighed and looked down. "I just… I don't know… I just sometimes feel like I have to be doing something. My hands are itching for something to do."

"What about your laptop. You brought that along," Leo reminded him.

"Writing theories is no fun unless you can test them and you can only make so many computer programs on a laptop, my machine is more powerful back at the lair. And I couldn't really bring too much of the things I was working on either," the purple masked turtle said.

"I just needed something to distract myself with, doing something. I feel so useless otherwise," he then said looking at Leo who nodded.

"I know how you feel Don," he said and gently put one hand on his brother's shoulder. "I… I felt something similar back when I was ambushed."

"You did?" Don asked, though he didn't feel surprised. Remembering how much time his brother had spent moping in the barn.

"Yeah, I felt useless, a failure." Leonardo sighed heavily. "You know when I heard that you were being chased across the city; I got a so bad case of déjà vu I nearly had a panic attack."

"Leo… when you were being chased, did you consider surrendering?" his purple masked brother asked. Leo frowned and really had to think back to that particular day.

"No… no I don't think I did. I don't recall it at least, I think I would if I did," he then said.

"I did… there was this one moment were I considered it. But I realized it wouldn't do me much good, so I continued to fight," Don admitted and looked away feeling shameful.

"Hey Don, its ok," Leonardo said when seeing how ashamed his brother looked. He ended up drawing his chair closer and taking the other turtle in a hug. "It's alright; there is no shame in considering defeat."

"What frightens me the most Leo," Don whispered fighting back the tears. "If I had, they would have killed me… they wouldn't have taken me anywhere alive. They were hunting me… I was a prey… they were really going to kill me."

"Shhh, it's alright Don," Leonardo said soothingly patting his brother's carapace gently.

Donatello wrapped his arms tight around the blue masked one. Bitter tears now crawled down his cheeks; he tried to stifle his sobs but was unable to do so. Leo just held him and allowed the turtle to went out his emotions.

"Shh brother, it's alright," Leo whispered though occasionally, trying to calm him down. He understood his brother well having felt the same. How the turtle wished he had been able to do this, but no the blue clad one had forced himself not to cry, not to appear weak for his brothers and sensei. However, Raph had seen through him but also understood his reasons.

Leonardo allowed Don the luxury of having a shoulder to cry on, arms to hug and comfort him. Try to sooth his fright and ward off his nightmares.

"Come on, lets get you back to bed," the older turtle said after few minutes. Don sniffled and nodded, they rose up and Leo supported his brother out of the kitchen and back up to the attic.

He helped Don to lie back in the bed and tucked him in. For a moment the blue masked ninja stood by and watched his sibling as he slowly drifted to sleep. He then sighed looking down before returning to his own bed.

* * *

Don and Leo were sitting on the porch of the farmhouse when April's van approached from the distance. Casey had gone yesterday to fetch Splinter and the rest to come visit. They had apparently decided to use the woman's car to arrive in.

The two turtles didn't even bother to stand up since they knew who was coming, just sat and stared at the approaching vehicle. They did though wave lazily once it stopped.

Mikey and Raph jumped out of the van and rushed to their brothers. That prompted Leo and Don to finally stand up. The orange glad brother of course hugged the purple masked one tight but the red masked one simply gave his sibling a slight punch in the shoulder.

"How are you hanging bro," Raphael asked. "Leo boring you to tears?"

"Thank you Raph," Leo grunted folding his arms.

"I'm doing fine, these bandages should come off in the next few days," Donatello said and patted the white material that encircled his upper body. He didn't get further; Mikey grabbed his arms and pulled him off the porch and towards the van.

"Come on Don, I have got something for you," he said eagerly and didn't let go of Don until they were at the car.

"Ok wait here," Mike said and disappeared behind the vehicle. Don raised an eye ridge but was then distracted first by April who hugged him as she greeted her friend. Then by Splinter.

"I see you are healing well my son," Splinter said, Don did a respectful bow and it was returned by his sensei. The turtle then embraced his father.

"I am sensei, I'll soon be able to return home," he said when they parted. Mikey peeked from behind the van.

"Don, close your eyes," he called. His brother looked up raising an eye ridge.

"What? Why?" the turtle asked.

"Just do it and hold out your hands," the orange masked ninja instructed. Don looked at Splinter who smiled wide.

"You better do what your brother tells you," he said with a slight chuckle.

Donatello shrugged and finally did what he was told. Closed his eyes and held out his hands. He heard Mikey approach and wondered what he was up to.

"No peeking," the younger ninja said.

"I'm not peeking," Don said closing his eyes tighter. He felt something being placed in his hands, his brow sunk in a frown. It was definitely made of wood, was long and pole shaped.

His eyes opened and he looked down. In his hands was a brand new Bo staff, complete with a purple ribbon wrapped around the middle. It was obviously freshly carved and polished. It was completely in the right shape and length. Donatello stared slack jawed at the weapon and then looked up at Mikey who grinned wide.

"Y-you made a new staff?" he whispered.

"Michelangelo has been working on a new Bo for you since the day you were brought back to the lair. He made sure everything about it was right, the length, the balance and he studied the history of it well," Splinter told him.

Don looked back at his new staff. He then took a step back and spun it; first with both hands, then only with the left hand and finally with the right hand. A smile crept across his beak at the feeling of having his weapon once more. The turtle stopped the spinning and looked at Mikey.

"I love it, thank you Mikey," he said and then approached his brother and grabbed him in a hug. "Thank you."

"Hey, you're welcome bro. You are always building something for us, so I thought I would build something for you. Well carve," Mikey said and returned the hug. The brothers parted and Don spun his bo one more time before placing it on his belt.

"Come let's go inside," the purple masked turtle gestured to house. Everybody else had already gone in.

"Oh and Raphael found a DVD player in the junkyard," Mikey mentioned as the two turtles and the rat began walking towards the farmhouse.

"Really," Don said.

"Yeah and he tried to fix it himself," his sibling said with a grin. Don's brow rose high.

"And?" the purple clad turtle dared asking.

"He managed to get it working," Mikey shrugged. "But the picture is still a bit strange."

"I'll look at it when I return to the lair," Don assured him, he held out his hands to silence both Splinter and Mikey who had opened their mouths to say something.

"Look, I know I'm on a break from fixing things. However, I am not going to be on a break forever, and I would like to watch my movies as well. Therefore, I am going to fix that player when I get home. It's no big deal," he said.

"We just don't want you to feel, you know, obligated again to fix things. You aren't bro," Mike said patting his brother on the shoulder.

"Michelangelo is right, we will from now on be more appreciative of your efforts and your brothers have promised to offer help if needed and not constantly come to you if something breaks," Splinter told his purple masked son as they stepped up on the porch. Don smiled and opened the door to the farmhouse.

"Thank you sensei," he said and the three walked in.

 **The End.**


End file.
